Murbach Abbey (french: Abbaye de Murbach) was a famous

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in

Murbach Murbach is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Murbach Abbey is located near Murbach. See also * Communes of the Haut-Rhin département The following is a list of the 366 communes of the French dep ...

, southern

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, in a valley at the foot of the

Grand Ballon The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region. Name ''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" because ...

in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

. The monastery was founded in 727 by Eberhard, Count of Alsace, and established as a Benedictine house by Saint Pirmin. Its territory once comprised three towns and thirty villages. The buildings, including the abbey church, one of the earliest vaulted Romanesque structures, were laid waste in 1789 during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

by the peasantry and the abbey was dissolved shortly afterwards. Of the 12th-century Romanesque abbey church, dedicated to Saint Leodegar (''St. Léger''), only the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

remains with its two

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

s, and the east end with the quire. The site of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

now serves as a burial ground. The building is located on the '' Route Romane d'Alsace''.

History

Early history

The founder of the abbey, Count Eberhard, brother of Luitfrid of the

Etichonids The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish, Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Eticho (also known as Aldarich), who r ...

, brought Bishop Pirmin from

Reichenau Abbey Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...

on Lake Constance to build up the religious community, which had previously used the Rule of St. Columbanus, but which had lost its original value. Pirmin solved the difficulties by introducing the mixed rule of St. Columbanus and

St. Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

, until the general reform of

Benedict of Aniane Benedict of Aniane ( la, Benedictus Anianensis; german: Benedikt von Aniane; 747 – 12 February 821 AD), born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious prac ...

. Count Eberhard gave the abbey a rich endowment and extensive privileges, including the right of free election of the abbot. The monastery was obliged to have its privileges regularly confirmed and was thus closely dependent on the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

(after 1680 the King of France). Murbach was placed under the patronage of Saint Leodegar, who had introduced the Benedictine Rule into Burgundy in the 7th century. The abbey was important politically, and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

himself took the title "Abbot of Murbach" ( la, Pastor Murbacencis; in a secular sense) in 792–93. By about 850 Murbach had become one of the intellectual centres of the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

; the library contained about 340 works of theology, grammar and history. In its decline, the library at Murbach still provided a possible source (aside from

Fulda Abbey The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...

) for

Poggio Bracciolini Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini (11 February 1380 – 30 October 1459), usually referred to simply as Poggio Bracciolini, was an Italian scholar and an early Renaissance humanist. He was responsible for rediscovering and recovering many classi ...

's recovery in 1417 of

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem ''De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into En ...

' lost didactic poem '' De rerum natura''. At the same time the worldly possessions of the abbey were increasing, thanks to large numbers of gifts. Murbach owned properties and rights in about 350 localities. Most of them were in Alsace, in the Bishoprics of Basle and Strasbourg. In addition there were properties on the right bank of the Rhine and even in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

. For example, in 805 the Alemannic nobles Egilmar, Focholt, Wanbrecht and Nothicho gave to the abbey their land and a church in the present Grissheim ( la, villa Cressheim in pago Brisachgaginse). Lucerne abbey was a possession of Murbach by the mid 9th century. It possessed property in the vicinity of

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

around 900, and is mentioned in the Wormser wall-building ordinance as one of the places that shared responsibility for maintaining the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

s.C. Van De Kieft and J. F. Niermeyer, eds. (1967), ''Elenchus fontium historiae urbanae'' (Leiden: E. J. Brill), pp. 43–44. This first period of prosperity ended in 936 with the invasion of Alsace by

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

. Murbach shows signs of decline during the 12th century, although in 1178, the city of Lucerne was founded as a Murbach possession. The abbey was dedicated in 1134.

Imperial Abbey

Murbach Abbey was granted the status of imperial immediacy in 1228, under abbot Hugues of Rothenburg. Murbach expanded its territorial possessions during the 13th century, mostly in the Alsace, leading to conflicts with the

Bishop of Basel The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bis ...

and the counts of Habsburg. Murbach Abbey sold its rights over the city of Lucerne and estates in

Unterwalden Unterwalden, translated from the Latin ''inter silvas''(''between the forests''), is the old name of a forest-canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy in central Switzerland, south of Lake Lucerne, consisting of two valleys or '' Talschaften'', no ...

to Rudolph I of Germany on 16 April 1291. This was a significant event for the

foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy began as a late medieval alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure ...

, as the ''

Waldstätte ' (, "forested sites") is a term which has been used since the early thirteenth century to refer to the (singular: , "sites"), or later ''Ort'' (plural: , "place") or (plural: , "estate") of the early confederate allies of Uri, Schwyz and Unter ...

'' or Forest Communities ( Uri,

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ' ...

and

) saw their trade route over

Lake Lucerne __NOTOC__ Lake Lucerne (german: Vierwaldstättersee, literally "Lake of the four forested settlements" (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), french: lac des Quatre-Cantons, it, lago dei Quattro Cantoni) is a lake in central S ...

cut off and feared losing their independence. From the 14th century the abbey began gradually to decline in influence although in the 15th and 16th centuries it retained its status as a principality. The Peace of Westphalia (

Treaty of Münster Treaty of Münster refers to two treaties signed in 1648, and forming part of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War: * Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the Seven United N ...

) of 1648 granted parts of the Alsace to France, but reserved the abbeys of Murbach Lüders as remaining with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The kingdom of France nevertheless managed to acquire ''de facto'' control over both abbeys in 1680, under the so-called

Chambers of Reunion {{Unreferenced, date=January 2008 The Chambers of Reunion (''Chambres des Réunions'') were French courts established by King Louis XIV in the early 1680s. The purpose of these courts was to increase French territory. Louis had been expanding the ...

established by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, and the two abbeys were part of the territorial disputes between France and the Empire during the period of 1680 to 1789. In c. 1759, under , the abbey was moved to

Guebwiller Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. It is situated northwest of Mulhous ...

, where the monks soon launched the construction of a new and monumental church,

Notre-Dame de Guebwiller Notre-Dame (Church of Our Lady) is a Neoclassical Catholic parish church in the town of Guebwiller, in the Haut-Rhin department of France. The church is classified as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture since 1841. The bu ...

. The abbey abandoned the Benedictine Rule and was transformed into a college for members of the nobility (french: chapitre collégial-équestral de Murbach, german: Adeliges Ritterstift Murbach). In 1789 the abbey was dissolved after having been looted by rioting peasants.

List of abbots

Source: ''

Gallia Christiana The ''Gallia Christiana'', a type of work of which there have been several editions, is a documentary catalogue or list, with brief historical notices, of all the Catholic dioceses and abbeys of France from the earliest times, also of their occupan ...

''. * 727-731 : Saint Pirmin * 731-752 : Romain * 752-762 : Baldebert * 762-774 : Haribert * 774-789 : Amicus * 789-792 : Saint Simpert * 792-793 :

(nominal "lay abbot") * 793-795 : Egilmar * 795-811 : Gerold * 811-829 : Gontran * 829-877 : Sigismar * 877-913 : Frederick * 913-976 : Wandbert * 976-988 : Berenger * 988-1023 : Helmeric * 1023-1041 : Degenhard * 1041-1049 : Eberhard * 1049-1056 : Wolfrad * 1056-1075 : Robert * 1075-1080 : Udalric * 1080-1122 : Samuel * 1122-1144 : Berthold I * 1144-1160 : Egilolf * 1160-1189 : Conrad I von Eschenbach * 1189-1190 : Widerolf * 1190-1194 : Suitbert * 1194-1218 : Arnold * 1218-1239 : Hugues of Rothenburg (first prince-abbot) * 1239-1240 : Albert I of Fronburg * 1240-1261 : Thibaud of Faucogney * 1261-1285 : Berthold II of Steinbrunn * 1285/6-1298 : Berthold III of FalkensteinAmbros Kocher: ''Solothurner Urkundenbuch'', Erster Band 762–1245, State Chancery of the Canton of Solothurn, Solothurn, 1952. Stammtafel 2. * 1298-1304 : Albert II of Liebstein * 1304-1335 : Conrad II Schenk of Stauffenberg * 1335-1345 : Conrad III Wernher of Murnhard * 1345-1354 : Henry of Schawenburg * 1354-1377 : John I Schulteiss of Guebwiller * 1377-1387 : William I Stör of Störenburg * 1387-1394 : Rudolph of Watteville * 1394-1428 : William II of Wasselnheim * 1428-1433 : Peter of Ostein * 1433-1447 : Thierry of Domont * 1447-1476 : Bartholomy of Andlau-Hombourg * 1476-1489 : Achaz of Griessen * 1489-1513 : Gautier of Wilsperg * 1513-1542 : Georges of Massmünster * 1542-1570 : John II Rudolph Stör of StörenburgArthur Engel; Ernest Lehr: ''Numismatique de l'Alsace''. Paris, Leroux, 1887, p 130-138. * 1570-1587 : John III Ulrich of Raitenau * 1587 :

Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (26 March 1559 – 16 January 1617) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1587 to 1612. Life Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau, near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werne ...

* 1587 : Gabriel Giel of Gielsberg (elected, unconfirmed) * 1587-1600 : cardinal Andrew of Austria (first commendatory abbot, also

Bishop of Konstanz The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dua ...

and

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic an ...

) * 1600-1614 : John IV Georges of Kalkenriedt * 1614-1626 : Leopold I of Austria-Tyrol (

Leopold V, Archduke of Austria Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria (October 9, 1586 – September 13, 1632) was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, and the younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand II, father of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria ...

, also

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Strasbourg) * 1626-1663 : Leopold II William of Austria ( Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, also Bishop of Passau and Strasbourg) * 1663-1664 : Columban of Andlau-Hombourg * 1664-1682 : Francis Egon of Fürstenberg (also Bishop of Strasbourg) * 1682-1686 : Felix-Egon of Fürstenberg (administrator) * 1686-1720 : Philipp Eberhard von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort (abbot of Gorze) * 1720-1737 : Célestin-Sébastien of Beroldingen-Gundelhart * 1736/7-1756 : François-Armand de Rohan (also Bishop of Strasbourg) * 1756-1786 : Kasimir Friedrich von Rathsamhausen * 1786-1790 : Benedikt Friedrich von Andlau-Homburg (Benoît-Frédéric van Andlau-Hombourg)

Gallery

File:Abadia de Murbach - Tomba de Eberhard.JPG, Late medieval tomb of Count Eberhard inside the church File:Abtei Murbach Pirmin.jpg, 19th century figure of Saint Pirmin at Murbach Abbey

References

* Philippe Legin: ''Die Abteikirche von Murbach im Oberelsass''. Colmar, Editions S. A. E. P. Ingersheim, 1980 *

External links

*
Romanik im Elsaß: ehemalige Klosterkirche Murbach
*
History and photos of Murbach Abbey
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Haut-Rhin Churches in Haut-Rhin Benedictine monasteries in France Imperial abbeys Romanesque architecture in France Monuments historiques of Haut-Rhin